The King's Advice
by Lord Machiavelli's Understudy
Summary: Before the Grail War even began, Shirou met a proud woman in the park. Little did he know that this innocuous encounter would mark the beginning of a great tale of adventure, heroism, and perhaps, if he is very lucky, a little romance. (Female Gilgamesh)
1. The Architect

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate/Stay Night.

He had the walls of Uruk built, the sheepfold

Of holiest Eanna, the pure treasury.

See its wall, which is like a copper band,

Survey its battlements, which nobody else can match,

Take the threshold, which is from time immemorial,

Approach Eanna, the home of Ishtar,

Which no future king nor any man will ever match!

Go up on to the wall of Uruk and walk around!

Inspect the foundation and scrutinize the brickwork!

Testify that its bricks are baked bricks,

And that the Seven Wise Men must have laid its foundations!

One square mile is the city, one square mile is orchards,

One square mile is claypits, as well as the open ground of Ishtar's temple.

Three square miles and the open ground comprise the city of Uruk.

—The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 1

**Day— -19**

It was twilight, and Shirou was on his way home. He was also a little late. He had stayed behind at work to help with some deliveries, and now Taiga-nee-san would be hungry when he got home. This was a completely normal day, just like almost every other day, when something extraordinary happened. Not that he knew that at the time.

He was taking his normal short cut through the deserted park, when he saw a woman sitting on the park bench staring out into space. She was without a doubt one of the most striking and exotic women that he had ever seen. Her hair was very brightly blond, and cut in a spiky, wild looking bob. She was wearing elegant slacks and a button-down blouse, cut to her figure. A jacket was flung over the bench next to her, in defiance of the early winter chill. Despite the blankness of her gaze, her posture was a cocky sprawl that managed to scream confidence. Altogether she looked like something that had escaped from an anime, or maybe a movie. As he got closer, he saw that her eyes were a very bright red color, which only added to her strangeness.

He waved at her tentatively, worried about a woman out here after dark. She took no notice, continuing to look forward. He followed her gaze, seeing nothing but a tree, and the water beyond it.

"Um, are you okay?" he asked, concerned that something was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time, this park was not good for anyone sensitive. He was expecting her to jump, realize what she was doing and head for home, which was probably in the foreigner's district. What actually happened was somewhat different.

Her eyes slammed into focus, looking straight at him. He was utterly caught in her gaze, unable to continue speaking. He just stood there awkwardly for a long moment, while she looked at him.

"Boy." Her voice was deeper than he had expected, a clear alto utterly unlike the normal breathy schoolgirl voice. "Measure the angle of that corner." It was an absolute order. He blinked, turning towards the corner of the park she seemed to have been looking at, between the water on one side and the road on the other. He took a step towards it, before turning back to the woman.

He was glad to help anyone who asked, however rude they were. And who was she calling a boy? She's definitely younger than Taiga, about college aged. Still, he needed some sort of instruments it she wanted him to measure things…

"I don't have anything to measure it with. Do you have a protractor, or…" The woman reached behind her jacket, and pulled out a coil of rope and a couple of sticks. She tossed them to him, and he just barely caught them. The rope was knotted at regular intervals.

"Tell me how many gan there are between that corner and the road even with that tree," she pointed to the tree. "and how many there are between the corner and the fake altar." Her tone was not quite impatient. Shirou assumed that by fake altar she meant the monument, and that each knot was a gan, but didn't quite feel up to asking the rather intimidating woman.

Still, he stuck the stick with the rope at the corner of the park, and slowly backed away from it, keeping the rope barely taunt, counting the knots as they went through his hands. At the tree, he called out to the woman, "It's around 21 knots, I mean gan."

She marked something down on a sketchbook that had apparently also been hiding behind her jacket. Shirou moved back towards the stake, then along the other edge. However when he reached the area, it wasn't as clear cut as the other side. "This side is somewhere between 26 and 27 knots." The woman got up and walked over towards him, looking at the rope. She was very tall, towering at least a head over him.

She said something to herself in a strange language, jotting some marks down in her book. The marks looked like scratches. Not that he would ever tell the woman that. He looked at it as she apparently did some math. He didn't think that it was any type of kanji or hiragana. Well, the woman was obviously a foreigner, even if she didn't have an accent, so maybe that is the script of her homeland. Then she flipped back a page, and Shirou was struck breathless.

It was a sketch of a tower. It soared over a scrawl of the city, immovable and inviolate. It was a spire that would have seemed delicate, if it wasn't for the sheer solidity that it managed to evoke. "Wow," he breathed.

" Indeed. This area will be the better after my construction." She responded proudly.

"Yeah. That's just…beautiful." He couldn't help but agree.

"Of course it is. You have never seen its equal before." From a normal person that would be a question, but from this woman it was a statement. _The sky is blue. You have never seen its equal._

"No." Even on paper the building was impressive, he would remember ever seeing anything like it in real life.

"Nor will you, since Uruk fell." She said affably, filling in some cross-shading.

"Uruku?" he asked carefully, mangling the pronunciation.

"My city, great and wondrous, a merest shadow of its King's glory."

He wasn't sure what that meant, and he had never heard of the city, but he could understand at least something from her words. "Is your home gone then?"

She looked at him for the second time since they had met, surprise in her eyes. "I suppose it is."

"I'm sorry." He sympathized with her.

Unfortunately, that was apparently the wrong thing to say to her. Any hint of fellowship vanished. "Never apologize. It weakens you in the eyes of your enemies, and makes those below you think that they are your equals. Especially when it is an apology for something that doesn't concern you."

That…was an interesting way to put it. But Shirou realized that he had just been very rude, bringing up what was doubtlessly a touchy subject. He bit down another apology, and said, "That tower will bring a little bit of it back though, won't it?"

"Yes it will, when everything is over and done." Something about that was little ominous, but he pressed on.

"Are you planning on starting construction soon?"

"No, not soon. Several things must occur before my tower and world may be built." She appeared to be back to normal, confident and proud. Also ambitious, if he understood about her wanting to change the world correctly.

Still, he supposed that even people as confident as this architect need funding for their projects. "Well, if you ever need anymore help, then I'm always available. I come here every couple of nights."

"No more help is required, boy." She dismissed him, picked her jacket up off the bench.

Shirou watched as the strange woman crossed the bridge. She struck an impressive figure, as if the rest of the world only mattered because she was in it. He watched her until she was out of sight, before heading home in the opposite direction.

He only got a few steps before he realized that he had forgotten to ask for her name.

"I'm home," Shirou said, taking off his shoes at the door.

"You're late!" Taiga yelled, her preternatural Shirou senses telling her that he had returned. "There was no food. What would I have done if Sakura wasn't here?"

Freeloader. Shirou swears that woman is a freeloader.

"I ran into an interesting person in the park after work," he said, taking his own share of food and sitting down next to Sakura.

"Oh?" Taiga said, despite all the food that she was cramming into her mouth.

"Yeah, she was an architect. Apparently they're thinking about building something on the site."

"At the memorial?" Sakura said doubtfully, as if she thought that the memorial park should stay the way it is. Normally he would have agreed, but that tower…

"I think it was more a conceptual thing, than a certainty. She let me look at some of her designs, and if they are half as impressive in real life as they are on paper, then the city will be lucky to have her building."

"Her?" Taiga interrupted, sounding disapproving. "Is this a dangerous woman preying on my poor Shirou?"

"It wasn't like that. She just needed some help taking some rough measurements. Besides, she's a foreigner, and probably just visiting since I don't think I've seen her before." He thinks that he would have remembered anyone half as impressive as the strange woman in the park.

"You'll probably never see her again anyway."

"Yeah." Shirou thought of red eyes, and had this vague sense of apprehension, like he had missed something really important. He ignored the feeling, deciding that it probably wasn't important. In retrospect, that was a mistake.


	2. The Encounter

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fate/Stay Night.

When he had turned away Enkidu spoke to him, to Gilgamesh,

'Your mother bore you to be unique,

The Wild Cow of the Sheepfold, Ninsun

Raised your head above death.

Ellil decreed for you kingship over the people.

You are superior to [other kings]'

—The Epic of Gilgamesh, Old Babylonian Version, Tablet II

**Day 3**

Shirou had this terrible feeling that he was in deep over his head. All of this, Servants and Masters, the Holy Grail, seemed deadly serious. He wasn't certain that his agreement to participate was the right choice. Still he didn't think any other choice was any good either. People could get hurt. People could die. He was careful not to think about the pain in his own chest.

The events of the past couple of hours had conspired to give the world a sense of surreality. The long string of events, beginning with the fight between the Blue and Red Knights, his own death and subsequent revival, Saber's battle, and that priest's long explanation made this night utterly different from his normal routine. If he ever dreamed of anything but swords or the fire, he would have assumed that this was a particularly elaborate dream. Except this was far too logical, strange revelations notwithstanding.

The night was cold and quiet. The world had narrowed down to the three of them. Saber walked one step behind him, her posture wary and on guard. He wasn't sure what to think of her. She was a Heroic Spirit, a hero of justice in her own right. He had seen her strength in her fight earlier against the blue spearman, who had taunted him with his weakness. On the other hand, he couldn't help but think that there was something wrong about the idea of a woman, a Knight, like that being forcibly bound to someone like him. She deserved a better Master, a capable magus like Rin, not an incompetent one like himself.

Which of course brought him to the girl walking in front of them. The last few hours had completely changed his perception of the other student. She wasn't just the school idol, the beautiful (but inapproachable) woman that he admired (and to be honest, fantasized about) from afar. That dreamy image had been shattered by this quick-witted, courageous and proud magus. Frankly, she was a little terrifying, in a good way. In any case, he was grateful for her help. Without her explanations (and that priest's, he supposed), he would never have been able to figure out what was happening. Of course, now he had even more questions.

They were walking in silence down the road along the side of the cemetery. Something about the situation screamed Horror Movie, and it was all he could do not to jump at every sound, or at every flash of blue.

"Um, Tohsaka-san?" he asked apprehensively.

"Yes?" she said over her shoulder.

"That priest… was he telling the truth?" Shirou didn't actually think that the man had lied to him, but something about the man set his teeth on edge.

She snorted. "Kotomine always tells the truth. Despite his…unpleasantness, he will be and impartial judge. About his advice, Kotomine is a veteran in this war, and knows which strategies will lead to victory." Her face was sour, though whether from praising the man or distaste at the man's suggested strategies Shirou wasn't sure.

"You are far too trusting, child." The voice came from the darkness to the left of the three. Starlted, they turned sharply, only to see a blond woman sprawled on the lower branch of a tree. Belatedly, Shirou recognized the architect, and opened his mouth to ask what in the world she was doing, only to be interrupted by Saber.

The Heroic Spirit had drawn her invisible sword and placed herself directly between Shirou and the woman.

"Archer!" she hissed.

Rin blinked and turned so that she could see both woman at once. "Um, Saber? Archer is my Servant." She sounded a little confused.

Shirou was confused too, but that wasn't anything new this evening. The two blond women continued to stare at each other as if the other two didn't exist. Saber was glaring angrily, but also seemed somewhat worried. In contrast, the stranger seemed very confident and relaxed. She was looking at Saber intently, her gaze lingering hungrily at the Servant's curves.

After a long moment, Saber answered Rin. "She may not be an Archer this time, but I assure you that she is a Servant." Saber did not take her eyes off the woman.

"She can't be! Archer and I saw her yesterday, and he said she was human." Rin was quickly getting frustrated.

At her words, the stranger's red eyes snapped over to the young magus. "Even a lesser mage such as yourself must be aware of the power of the Grail, or you wouldn't seek it out."

This apparently meant more for Rin than it did to Shirou, because she gasped and stepped closer to him, behind Saber. He was surprised. Rin didn't seem like the kind of person who would allow herself to be called 'lesser' at anything, especially her magecraft.

"I don't understand," Shirou said, hoping that someone would explain what was going on.

"She is a resurrected Heroic Spirit. She must have won the last war," Rin hissed at him.

At that, Shirou looked at the woman with new eyes. The other two seemed to be worried that she would attack them, but it didn't seem like she was planning to move. After all, there wouldn't be any point. If she had already won (or mostly won, remembering what Kotomine had said) there wasn't any reason for her to fight them. In fact, seeing as she had experience with the Grail War, it might be good to have her on their side.

"Do you have any advice for us, Sempai?" he asked respectfully.

Three incredulous looks were his only response. There was even one from Saber, before she realized what she had done and returned her attention to the other Servant.

"Advice! You…" Rin was unable to continue due to frustration. Apparently he had missed yet another of her rules.

"Sempai?" the woman said blankly, before bursting into laughter. "You have an interesting Master this time around, my dear." She looked at him with faint recognition. "Still exulting my glory, boy?" Saber tensed up even more. She was apparently used to thinking about this woman as an enemy, and was bothered by her looking at her Master.

"Relax. However much I would _enjoy_," the woman addressed the other Servant. Shirou blushed at her tone of voice. "continuing our last fight now that your mongrel of a Master cannot interfere, I will enjoy it even more when you are in better condition, my dear."

"Don't call me that!" Saber proclaimed. It didn't look like she was going to relax anytime soon.

The tall woman jumped down off of her perch and stalked closer to them. "You amuse me boy. For that, I will give you three pieces of true advice, given when I so choose."

"We thank you, o great hero, for your offering to our cause." Rin bowed low to the former Servant.

"You are as pathetic as your father, mongrel." She told Rin calmly. The magus flushed. It looked like she just barely bit back a retort.

Then she reached out, ignoring Saber's invisible sword, and caressed her cheek. "Keep well my dear, heal yourself. I hope to meet you in battle soon enough. Don't you dare lose to any lesser beings. I will see you soon." The blond woman turned away.

Looking at Shirou, she smiled and said, "You have amused me more than any other in the last several years. I will be terribly disappointed if you lose this war, my boy." He felt like he had just been threatened, despite her even tone. And what did she mean, her boy?

With that she turned to leave, her proud spine steady and strait.

"Wait," he called after her, struck with a question. She deigned to look back. "What is your name?" He had forgotten to learn it before.

She began to laugh again, and both Saber and Rin glared at him. "She's a Servant, you idiot! They keep their identities hidden," said Rin.

"Indeed. We lose great strategic ground if others can identify our weaknesses," agreed Saber.

"But she's not our enemy," he protested. Saber didn't look convinced. The woman had finally stopped laughing and, contrary to the other predictions, answered him.

"I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, the King of Uruk in the First Age, daughter of gods and mortal man. I built the first city of bronze and brick, and there has never been its equal. I slew the Great Humbaba, whom the very gods feared. I killed the Bull of Heaven when Ishtar set it upon my people. I found the secret of eternal youth. I have defeated all who challenge me, and taken all people and things who have pleased me. When other legends have formed and faded into dust, I have maintained for millennia. Know that I am the first, and the best, and none can compare to my glory."

There was nothing they could say to that. Gilgamesh looked at their speechless faces and smirked. "Impressive enough for you, girl?" she said, looking over their shoulders.

"N-not really!" came another voice from behind them. It was the girl from yesterday, her platinum-blonde hair shining against the darkness behind her. "Even if Onii-chan's Servant is that impressive, my Hercules is better."

The girl, who was apparently also a master, had come up the path from the town. Now that he saw her, he had no idea how she had managed to sneak up on them. Well, the girl could probably manage it, but the giant figure behind her definitely couldn't. Not only was it at least seven feet tall, it produced a palpable air of menace. It projected the idea that everything around it would quickly be destroyed if it so chose. Judging by her words, the girl was yet another Master, as this hulking brute was her Servant.

"Another Master?!" Rin breathed, surprised. Shirou was rather surprised as well. He knew that there was a war going on, but surely it wasn't normal to encounter so many Masters and Servants in such a quick amount of time? And besides, what is such a young girl doing in a War anyway? Even with a Servant as strong as this one seemed to be, there was a very large chance that she could get badly hurt.

At least she didn't appear to be hostile. She had a friendly, open smile on her face, below clear red eyes several shades darker and murkier than Gilgamesh's. Of course, her Servant was a large contrast, seeing as he produced an aura of death. However, he hadn't attacked them yet, so Shirou figured that they were safe for now.

"You mistake me child. I am not currently a Servant." Gilgamesh said calmly, apparently amused by the girl's assumption.

"That…Archer… is not my Master's Servant," Saber agreed, as if it pained her to agree with the other hero.

To be honest, Shirou could understand the mistake. Two Master, Two Servants, it's a natural assumption. Rin was standing very close to Saber after all.

"Oh." The girl looked lost for a second. "Do you belong to the girl then?" she said with a bright smile.

"I belong to nobody but myself." There was such a sharp edge to that statement that Shirou felt he could probably cut himself on it. Gilgamesh was beginning to get angry at the girl. That…wouldn't have a good outcome for any of them.

"Goodbye Gilgamesh. I really appreciate your offer, but there's no reason for you to stay here," he said hurriedly in an attempt to distract her. "I—"

He was interrupted by the girl, who angrily asked, "Why is Onii-chan ignoring me? Berserker! Attack—"

The dark figure burst into motion, coming at them with absolutely ridiculous speed for a man that large. Saber abandoned her guard on Gilgamesh, and sprang to meet this new, violent threat. She barely managed to parry his blow, while Shirou and Rin scrambled out of the way. For her part Gilgamesh stepped back, observing the battle calmly, her amused smirk back on her face.

The dark figure was even stronger than it looked, which Shirou wouldn't have believed was possible if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Its blows created craters where it struck the ground. The roughly hewn rock blade was nimble in his hands, and Saber was just barely managing to avoid his attacks. For the moment it was ignoring him and Rin, but Shirou had a feeling that would change as soon as Berserker's young Master stopped laughing and ordered it to focus on them. Really, she looked like she was enjoying this far too much.

Saber was clearly on the defensive, even to Shirou's untrained eyes. She wasn't quite losing yet, but she simply couldn't safely cross blades with the juggernaut. He glanced over at Gilgamesh. She looked as relaxed as ever, so it was likely that she thought that she could defeat the other Servant. But she was standing there so calmly, so it seemed like she wasn't planning on getting involved, no matter what happened. To be honest, Shirou didn't think that could ask her to interfere anyway. The woman had already fought; she didn't deserve to be dragged back into the War again.

He didn't know what to do.

Shirou could feel himself beginning to panic in the face of this new threat. This was the third time he felt this way tonight, but this time he couldn't run away like he had from the blue Lancer. There was no way that he could leave Saber and Rin and even Gilgamesh (who could probably take care of herself) alone.

Then Gilgamesh took all choice out of his hands.

"Really Saber, going easy on them? I expected more from you," she said teasingly. Shirou had to wonder what the woman was thinking. Instead of entering the battle, or just helping out, she decides to taunt people? And not even the enemy, but someone who was a sortof ally?

"Shut up!" Saber growled. Shirou went a little red. It was probably his fault that Saber couldn't use her full strength on the other Servant, but did Gilgamesh have to spell it out like that?

"And as for you, child," now she addressed the young Master. "Don't you know that dumb muscle is just that, dumb? A little intelligence behind his attacks would increase his power tenfold."

This girl cleanched her fists and yelled, "My Hercules is the BEST. He's stronger and faster than you, and his legend is a lot bigger. Who's even heard of you? And don't call me child!"

"Oh, than what's your name?" Shirou had to admire how Gilgamesh was getting information out of the enemy with such ease.

"I'm Ilya. You…" Shirou missed the rest of her statement, too distracted by his view of the battle in front of him. Saber had made the smallest of missteps, and Hercules' weapon was swinging down to crush her.

He didn't remember moving. One second he was crouching down next to Rin, then the next he was pushing Saber out of the way. There was no thought behind the action. He closed his eyes and tried to brace himself for the blow…

Which never came. After a long second, he looked up to see Gilgamesh standing above him. Berserker had somehow been pushed back. He stood across the clearing, shaking his head, gathering himself to attack again. The girl, (Ilya he thought she said?) had a very unsettled look on her face.

"Berserker! Stop!" she yelled. "Let's go. We'll come back later." Switching moods as quickly as she had earlier, she looked at him with that nice smile again. "It was good to see you, Onii-chan. I'll have to come play with you again." She waved at him cutely.

With that the two left, heading back down the hillside. Shirou breathed deeply, relieved that he was still alive. Saber watched them go, her sword still ready. After a long moment, when she was sure that they wouldn't return, she whirled back to face Gilgamesh. She looked alarmed at the sight of Gilgamesh above him. That quickly changed into somewhat conflicted, as she put away her invisible sword. Approaching the taller blond, she said stiffly, "Thank you for your care of my Master."

"Anytime." Gilgamesh smirked.

Getting up, Shirou looked at the two Servants. "Thank you, Gilgamesh."

"I could not let him kill you before you had even began could I? Although don't expect any such assistance in the future. This was purely a whim on my part." The tall woman smoothly denied working to save his life.

"About that Shirou." He turned towards Saber, not expecting her outburst. "What were you thinking!?"

He was thinking that she was going to get badly hurt. However, when he tried to express that in words, the Servant brushed off all of his explanations. "I am your Servant. I am your sword. It is my responsibility to defend you. There is no reason for you to worry about me."

Rin nodded and agreed with Saber, looking somewhat wary of Gilgamesh, who was standing off the side. Shirou was beginning to wonder what exactly it was that she did to Berserker.

After listening to their lecture for a minute or two, Gilgamesh chimed in. "I think that the two of you are looking at this wrong." She looked derisively at Rin, "You, child, are thinking in terms of Master and Servants. It is right and meet that a Servant die as her Master's feet. As for you, my dear, you see the world in terms of knighthood and chivalry. You see yourself as the knight, living and dying for you liege." There was a light emphasis on the last line. Shirou didn't understand, but apparently Saber got the message, because she went lightly red.

"Whereas Shirou," she tasted his name, lingering on the syllables until he was even redder that Saber had been earlier. "saw a friend and comrade in danger. It is entirely meet, no matter how dangerous, to offer to die for a friend." She nodded to him.

Gilgamesh apparently had a way of stating things oddly, but correctly. With that she turned to leave again.

"Wait." This time it wasn't Shirou who called after her, but Rin. The other magus shook when Gilgamesh looked directly at her, but stood her ground. "That was advice," she accused. "You promised Shirou three pieces of advice. Are you trying to use up your promise quickly so that you aren't bound by it anymore?"

Gilgamesh sighed. "You have been spending too much time around Kotomine, child. That does not count. Believe me, when I give my advice, you will know it."

She looked around. "Anything else before I take my leave?" She was growing irritated again, but Shirou just had to ask.

"Where will we be able to find you?" It would be much more convenient if they didn't need to rely on luck to find the former Servant.

She blinked. "You do not need to worry about that. I will find you."

With that she vanished into the trees. Shirou wondered where she was going. There was nothing in that direction but the graveyard and the church, but he put it out of his mind. Whatever she was doing was her business. She had proved that she was quite capable of taking care of herself.

The three people remaining headed in the other direction, hoping that they would have no further encounters that night.


End file.
